Cocoa Baked Quinoa Bars: No Sugar Added, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
These look like brownies don’t you think? Well they could certainly pass for one but the secret is QUINOA!! You cook some up and boy you can do some many things with it. I’ve made a bunch of quinoa salad recipes with it and lately have been enjoying baking with it. It is gluten free and works really well when combining it with other fabulous ingredients.
This recipe takes only about 10 minutes to put together and bakes for about 45 minutes but once you make it you’ve got a great grab-n- go snack for your family!
Mix some wonderful ingredients together in your blender or food processor and bake it like this or add some toppings!
Here I added some grain sweetened chocolate chips and roasted sunflowers. Dried fruit and chopped nuts would be fantastic. These are only slightly sweet on their own without chocolate chips so if your family is used to sweeter snacks you may want to add in some stevia. But my family enjoyed it like this. 🙂
They hold their shape well and you can easily take them to go. They aren’t dry like the texture of a granola bar, but if my picky 12 year old liked them I think ANY kid will. My son is surely HARD to please!
P.S. I NEVER told him they were quinoa bars. He knows only the name chocolate baked bars to go!
YUM! Enjoy some and then store in the fridge.
Wrapping individually with plastic wrap ensures they won’t stick together, makes it easier to handle and it’s perfect to pack into lunches as well.
*adapted from WholeFoodsMarket.com
*Check this post if you are not sure how to cook your quinoa
I’ve adapted this recipe to be completely SUGAR-FREE as well as in the CROCK POT! Check it out here: CROCK POT SUGAR-FREE CHOCOALTE QUINOA BROWNIES!
- Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw almonds*
- 1-1/2 cups almond milk*, unsweetened (or milk of choice)
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup applesauce*, unsweetened
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal*
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon liquid chocolate stevia, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, dried chopped fruit
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Chop your almonds in your blender or food processor.
- Add your pitted dates and almond milk in a high powdered blender or food processor (slowly, a few at a time).
- Add chia seeds, applesauce, cocoa and salt and blend until smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl and add your cooked quinoa and flaxseed meal.
- Prepare an 8 by 8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or use parchment paper.
- Place your cocoa quinoa mixture into the prepared dish and spread evenly.
- Add optional toppings.
- Bake for 45 -60 minutes or until firmly set on top. Mine were perfect at 45.
- Let cool for 30 minutes before cutting into 12 squares.
- Keep refrigerated or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.
Other Baked Quinoa recipes you might like:
- Baked Quinoa Bites from SFM
- Quinoa Spinach Bake from The Healthy Apple
- Fruity Baked Quinoa from SFM
- Baked Quinoa Pudding with Raisins from Simply Gluten& Sugar Free
- Mini Zucchini Quinoa Cheese Bites from SFM
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
These look to be just the snack for me! My only variations would be unsweetened rice milk and unsweetened carob chips. I need to purchase some chia seeds and flaxseed meal for the recipe, and some liquid stevia too … just to have it available for all sorts of treats.
These look fabulous!!!
Thanks Amy!
I followed the recipe to a tee except I didn’t have applesauce on hand and I substituted for equivalent amount of greek yogurt (which wouldn’t be the source of my problem). I cooked for 50 minutes and cooled for an hour and the end result is that it is still as soft as batter- sloppy in fact :S I used 2 full cups of cooked quinoa, but when I poured batter in 8X8 pan doesn’t look at all like yours does in picture. It almost was as though I needed more quinoa…
Did anyone else have this problem??
Any suggestions??
I had a similar problem… they’ve been in the oven forever and they are still like gooey batter in the middle…
Delicious recipe! I used unsweetened coconut (1/2 cup) instead of flax meal, and added 1/4 cup of chocolate chips then baked as cookies. My kids even enjoyed a bowl of it uncooked 🙂
cool! That’s great to know for the replacement of flax, thanks!
Is it possible to omit the chia seeds altogether? (since i’m already adding the extra flax, by making it nut free). would eliminating the chia seeds change anything? i saw that you suggested hemp seeds, but i do not have those either. any other substitutes?
Nope, you need it. I tried reducing the chia and they didn’t stay together well.
Yummy! Very tasty for breakfast and snacks. I put hempseeds and cacao nibs on top of mine. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Glad you liked it!
i’m following the candida diet and can’t have the dates. do you think i could add extra chia for binding and some stevia or xylitol for sweetening?
You’re guess is as good as mine. I’ve not tried it without the dates. I’m sorry.
Alison – Did you try making these without the dates? If so, how did it turn out? I’m following the candida diet as well and I was just wondering the same thing. These bars do look amazing! -Laura
Hi. Can I replace the flax with something else? I don’t like the taste of it, I wish I did. Thank you.
try adding more almonds instead.
Thanks for the awesome recipe. Do you think fresh dates would work?
Hi, there. I love the idea of making these for my kids.
Can I ask if you grind the almonds into a flour or just add them roughly chopped?
In the directions you ad them first to chop them but keep them in the food processor and add dates,etc so they will become finer and more like a crumb than chopped. I guess if you use almond flour you could just throw it in after the dates are chopped in the processor.
These look wonderful and I can’t wait to try them!! I know you had directions to make it nut free but, do you think sunflower seeds would work instead of the almonds and coconut milk instead of the almond milk?
Its surely worth a try, please let me know how they turn out!
Fresh or dry dates?
I used dry.
These were delicious! I reduced the dates by half due to my diabetic hubby and they were sweet enough. I might experiment with pumpkin…unless you already did!
Just love these – about to make my second batch, by demand!
Just wondering if you know how many grams a serve is?
Many thanks.
Yeah!! Thanks for sharing!
thanks! Glad you liked them! I have no idea about grams though sorry!
I can’t wait to try these!! YUM! So healthy and still so decadent.
Thanks for sharing my recipe with your readers. So sweet of you!
Hugs,
Amy
You’re welcome Amy!
Where would you suggest I find grain sweetened chocolate chips? Whole foods? Didn’t see them on iherb.com
oh… by the way… these look DELICIOUS (and your blog is awesome and saves my life on a NUMBER of food emergency occasions).
Thank you!!
Yes I found them at Whole Foods.
Thanks!! just made them they look yum..
🙂
i would like to add a comment- when using a processor id suggest adding the milk slowly as i put all the ingredients it at once and the milk spritzed all over!!!!
Yes, forgot to mention you should chop dates first before adding other ingredients, thanks!
Flaxseed may work as a decent sub for chia seeds in this recipe.
yep I’d agree
Hi there,
Is there something I can substitute for the chia seeds?
Thanks,
Lindsay
The original recipe from Whole Foods uses hulled hemp seeds. I’ve never used them so i have no idea about taste and texture.
i can have these! well, ‘cept for the milk, nuts and chips.
will call for pricing! LOL
you r the best!
You can!!!Use regular milk, skip the chocolate chips but keep the yummy sunflower seeds!
ooooh yes! Gonna try for sure! And not tell the kidlets…..anything chocolate…they love 🙂
Could I simply use sugar instead of dates to sweeten these? We have no problems eating it, so I was wondering if it would be an exact substitution or if I’d need less or more.
I don’t use sugar at all so I would be guessing to tell you whether this recipe would work and hold together using sugar, sorry!
Yum!
How hot should the oven be?
I see it now 🙂
All great ingredients. I will call them Chocolate Baked Bars too. I will never tell them what’s in it unless they ask.
Hu, I wonder if I could use quinoa flour and this basic recipe to make these. I have plenty of quinoa grains and a dry blade mixer…may give this a shot!!!